Spring is here and many people are contemplating starting a garden. It's a great idea - you can save money by growing your own food and it's also great for the environment. If you've always dreamed of starting a garden but didn't know how or where to start - we've got 7 simple tips that can help you decide what kind of garden you want for your home, and how you can get started:
1. Picking the right spot - In urban environments, a gardener is usually limited to the amount of space available. Vegetables generally need at least 6 hours of sun per day, however if your yard is mostly shaded there are still a lot of great options available for your garden. Leafy vegetables can grow with as little as three hours of sun, or moderately spotty shade, per day. Lettuce, arugula, collard greens and even broccoli and peas can all thrive in a semi-shady environment.
2. Choose what you want to grow - Based on the locations available to you, make some wise choices about what will grow in your garden. Many new gardeners like to start small in order to get the feel for their newly acquired green-thumb. Vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce and beans give a longer harvest and are wise choices for a novice gardener.
Okay, let's get one thing straight; your back yard's is not going to look any better on its own! You need to get out there and give it a hand. Whether you have $50 to spend, or $500, there are so many ways of improving your back yard that you will be stunned at how simple most of them are. Have a good, hard look at your hard and make a note of the areas that you know need improving. Look at the ground as well as the fences or furniture.
Some of the simplest jobs make the biggest improvements. Put sod down over patches of dirt and you will soon have a lush, green lawn. It's quite a hard job physically, depending how much you have to put down, but is quite cheap and not a difficult job. Once the sod is in place, a few flowers or bushes will complete the effect.
Everyone loves flowers showing their pretty heads in their garden. Some people invest in large sprawling gardens and some make the available space in their yard beautiful. People who live in apartments can do neither. However, they do have an option for planting flowering plants. Window boxes are ideal and easily maintained for small places like an apartment.
Window boxes are easily transportable and can be placed on windows where sunlight is in plenty. The flowers will bloom well in such conditions. Flowers bloom best when they have at least 6 hours of direct sunlight.
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